Even as Kerala’s collective conscience was left benumbed at the Apex court dropping murder charge against Govindachamy, the Soumya murder accused, an incident in Kochi on the very day of the verdict provided yet another reminder that no woman is safe in a public space or transport, be it in broad day light or the dead of the night. Media person/research scholar Aswani Dravid was the latest to fall prey to physical assault near the Infopark IT Park campus in Kochi. She was lucky to escape with scratch marks though her friend Shambhu Sajith received brutal wounds from a sharp weapon on his arm.
Aswani is baffled at the kind of reactions to the incident that the police termed a result of ‘road rage’. “I am actually frightened at the thought of those men who still roam around that place. How safe would women be on that street? They were chasing us in a car before unleashing the attack. I don’t know what provoked them. Were they doing moral policing in a crowded place? Was it a cheap show off in an open space? Or they were in an inebriated high? I have no answers,” says Aswani.
Hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, both left to their place a day after the incident. Registering a complaint at the nearby police station, Aswani is now waiting to see if the third eye —- surveillance cameras — throw some light and whether the culprits would be brought to book.
Some may call it a one-off incident but atrocities against women are not new to Kochi. Nearly a year-and-a-half ago, broadcast journalist Revathi Rajeevan was at the receiving end of a bitter experience. She had the courage to react and bring the offender before law. “Until a month ago, I used to get phone calls from the offender’s family members —- his mother and sister —- to backtrack from my complaint. As long as I do not receive a notice from the court or an official communication from the police, I need not respond to them. Finally I told them outrightly to stop contacting me over the matter,” says Revathi.
Revathi too was in a busy area when the offender coming opposite inappropriately touched her. Questioning the bad behaviour annoyed the man, who slapped her before she took him to the traffic warden on duty and to the police station next. “From the police station, I understood that he’s a history-sheeter. The police were very supportive of me,” says Revathi. Similarly, in July, a public prosecutor was accused of molesting a woman who was returning from work near Convent Junction, a busy area, followed by an attempt by his relatives to hush up the case.
Kochi-based Nuthan Manohar, a fitness expert, is in the preparatory phase of a massive actionable study on women’s safety. “Only a city that is safe for women and minorities can be considered truly safe,” she says. “Safety needs to be addressed in both public spaces as well as in private. While it is easier to track safety in public locations, the fact remains that, there aren’t many cities in India that have conducted safety audits. There is a need to look at best practices in safety, and attempt to implement them through a government organisations-public partnership,” she says.
When everyone talks about Govindachamy’s escape from capital punishment, two years ago, the makers of the short film Window Seat virtually predicted such an outcome. “The thing is ‘might is right’ is the watchword nowadays. Many have learned the advantages of rubbing shoulders with the powers that be, so that when in trouble, they can ensure a safe exit. They know the ways to play safe. Unless and until this scenario changes, the less powerful would walk a tight rope,” reflects actor Krishnan Balakrishnan, who played the lead in Window Seat.
